Does T.V. Create Racist People?

 Does T.V. Create Racist People? 

In today’s society, people view racism as something that happened in the past and stayed in the past. Racism is not something that is meant to be forgotten because it still happens in the present. Minorities, such as black people, see racism in every street and corner in every block. The majority claim that that they are “woke” and that they “don't see color” only the integrity of a person and their character.  In reality, things have not changed for people of color at all, bigots have learned how to effectively hide their prejudicial thoughts in today’s climate. However, if the younger, more “woke” generations have learned from their parent’s “non-racist” upbringing, then where do people learn racism? There’s a reasonable theory; people learn racism from a young age because of the subliminally racist media, television, and books.

It has become more difficult for parents to control an adolescent learning environment from a young age. There are parental control options to monitor what the children see, however something that parents cannot control is what messages kids see. Take a look at: “Children, Adolescents, and the Media: Issues and Solution”, written by Victor C. Strasburger and Edward Donnerstein. In the article, both writers discuss the major influence that television have on children. According to both authors, “Young people average 16 to 17 hours of viewing [T.V.] weekly, beginning as early as age two.” Doing basic math, by the time children reach the age where they have the rudimentary sense of right or wrong (around the age of 7), they would have watched over 3,500 hours of television. Meaning, that those hours spent watching television would have had a great significance on the way they act, feel, believe, fear, love, hate, etcetera.

            There are subtle and not-so-subtle changes a child portrays when they have been impressed by something they see, children tend to imitate what they like. When they see someone doing a wrongful action that is disregarded with little to no repercussion, the world is lawless to them. If violent acts have proven to be imitated by children, what is the difference when they see racism on screen? An article about psychologist’s research on children’s mental development claims that there are situations where the monkey does do what it sees. The psychologist and writers of “Technology in Society” claim, “Practitioners and academics have raised concerns about the rise of hate crimes and racist behavior as a consequence of the diffusion of these technologies.” Children are seeing these people online, that comment racist derogatory things without receiving any type of punishment, and it morphs them to think and act a certain way. For example, a racist trend that spawn few years ago, “#alllivesmatter”, was a trend that started to disregard the struggle black people were (and are) going through against police brutality. Over the last few years, the participants in this campaign have only grown, this is the one example kids see. Another image they see are the pictures the bias media paints, depicting black people as criminals, thugs, uneducated, and dangerous. When they see this image of people that are different than them, the only response they feel is fear. When there is unresolved fear, there is the inevitable growth of hate.

Parents can be wary and just take the time to read a bedtime story to their children. Right? Wrong. The main characters are always white going on adventurous, and when there is another character, it is never a person a color, it is a replacement. Book such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, may seem harmless but the underlying message, out-of-context can leave an impressionable child thinking the wrong ideas. Sarah Begley, a journalist form TIME magazine spoke with Phillip Nel, the author of the book Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books. In his book he studies the paradox of stories that can harm a child’s way of thinking. Begley summarizes the book and pulls out a segment where Nel shares his views on why Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was racist. Begley states,“Oompa Loompas depicted in early editions as African pygmies, are portrayed as happy slaves, content to leave their native land behind and toil in a factory.” Add a bit of history, death, and deception and we have a story about the slave trade. Slaves were not happy to be slaves, so when a child sees this it slowly desensitizes them, which can lead to a future of racism and bigotry. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of many examples of children’s literature having racist paradox.

            Parents can prevent their kids from gaining the wrong mental representation of racially different people. Guardians can be more open about the topic about race and why it is important to acknowledge it. Teaching them that a person integrity and character is what makes a person, can be a useful tip when dealing with a child at a young age. Avoiding the topic of race can do more damage than good, so when confronted with these racial biases from media and books, it is better to have the talk with them.  Strasburger and Donnerstein advice that being creative in showing less justification for racism can push kids’ in the right direction. The youth is what we paint them to be, they are our mirror, they are our future.